Longitudinal expandable shoe tree



June 16, 1959 s. MATZNER 2,890,459

LONGITUDINAL EXPANDABLE SHOE TREE Filed May 20, 1957 WWW/WM United States Patent Oflice Patented June 16, 1959 LONGITUDINAL EXPANDABLE SHOE TREE Simon Matzner, New York, N.Y.

Application May 20, 1957, Serial No. 660,317

1 'Claim. (Cl. 12-1156) The present invention relates to improvements in display devices for mens footwear and, more specifically, to a new and improved shoe tree which is particularly well adapted for display purposes in shoe stores or the like, although it may be used also for other purposes.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which displaces heavy wooden shoe trees that fill out the entire shoes, so that a customer cannot inspect the interior of the same, and which is not only light in weight but also so constructed as to allow an inspection of the interior of shoes without removal of the shoe trees.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is adjustable and adaptable to diiferent sizes of shoes, and which does not require diiferent formations for right and left shoes, but which has a resilient front portion that fits properly into a right as well as into a left shoe.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is of a highly pleasing and attractive outer appearance, imparting a certain air of elegance to any shoe into which it has been inserted, which is easy and simple to insert into, and to remove from, a shoe, which consists of only a few simple sturdy parts, and which is also durable and well adapted for the rough usage to which devices of this type frequently are subjected.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fractional longitudinal sectional view.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

in the drawing the numeral (Fig. 1) denotes an entire shoe tree constructed in accordance with my invention. The same has a soft toe portion 11 of plastic material or the like, which is shaped equally for left shoes as well as for right shoes, and to which is attached a resilient curved support strip 12 of hard plastic material, which may be transparent or translucent; a plate holder 13 for inserting therein a price tag or the like preferably is attached to the support strip 12. A straight front portion 9 of the strip 12 is extended into the soft elastic toe portion 11 through an opening 14 which on all sides encompasses that portion 9 of the strip 12 which is extended therethrough. A shoulder or stop surface 15 engages an increased portion of the strip 12, which has an angular cam portion 16 for facilitating the forcing of the front portion of the strip 12 through the opening 14 in the soft elastic member 11. The opening 14 will be temporarily expanded while the increased section of the front portion of the member 12 is being pushed therethrough, and after this has been done the opening 14 will again assume its original size, so that the front portion of the member 12 is safely inserted in the bore in the member 11 and cannot inadvertently slip out of the same. A pressure spring 17 extends from the outer extremity 19 of the strip 12 into a circular portion 20 of an increased bore 21 in the member 11, and forces the increased portion of the strip 12 against a wall portion 18 of the member 11. In order to render said portion 18 more flexible, I prefer to provide a reduced notch portion 22 at the outer side of the member 11 opposite the stop surface 15. The front portion 9 of the strip 12 being preferably straight, the strip 12 can be pushed into the member 11, thereby compressing the spring 17, for facilitating the inserting of the device into a shoe and for making it adaptable to different sizes of shoes. After the device has been inserted into a shoe, the spring 17 tends to expand, thereby firmly and tightly forcing the member 11 into the front portion of the shoe, while the rear portion of the strip 12 engages the heel portion of the shoe. Said spring 17 also allows a pushing of the front portion 9 into the member 11 while the device 10 is being removed from a shoe, so as to facilitate the removal.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of 1anguage might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A longitudinal expandable shoe tree comprising an elastic solid toe portion adapted to be inserted into the front portion of a shoe and having a rear section into which is extended a bore which has a main portion and a reduced entrance portion adjacent the rear section of said toe portion, a longitudinal strip having a straight horizontal front portion shiftably extended into the bore in said toe portion and having also a curved end portion for engaging the heel portion of a shoe and an increased section downwardly extended from said front portion,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 818,960 Higgins Apr. 24, 1906 924,023 Wiener June 8, 1909 969,165 Kosters Sept. 6, 1910 1,849,753 Conner Mar. 15, 1932 2,158,394 Baas May 16, 1939 

